The Student Services Finance Committee met Thursday to discuss budget amendments to the Child Care Tuition Assistance Program budget and to appoint a new Healthcare Advisory Committee Representative.

CCTAP offers financial assistance to income eligible University of Wisconsin student parents, according to the website.

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SSFC Vice Chair Rihanna Mukherjee recommended the amendment indicate that institutional support includes both financial and non-financial resources. SSFC member Kevin Jacobson accepted this change to his amendment and suggested specifically stating examples of non-financial resources, such as increased help finding childcare providers, while SSFC member Roshan Verma said examples of non-financial support do not need to be explicitly listed.

CCTAP Director Cigdem Unal and Parent Resource Specialist Barb Douglas commented on the amendment, stating it would be beneficial to the proposed budget.

“We use every opportunity to advocate for student families, but unfortunately, other than segregated fees, we really don’t have any other funding sources,” Unal said. “We don’t give up, we keep advocating, and will continue to do so.”

Following the discussion of the amendment, ASM representatives voted on the amendment. The amendment passed with a 10-1 vote. The representatives then voted to accept the recommendation list as it stands, passing it with a 10-1 vote as well.

SSFC Chair Maxwell Laubenstein then began the process of appointing a new representative to the Healthcare Advisory Committee.

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SSFC representatives Charlie Fahey and David Vargas nominated themselves for the position. Each representative was granted two minutes to speak on their intentions and how they will fulfill the needs of this position, followed by a two-minute Q&A.

Following each representative’s speech and Q&A period, the representatives voted on who would be the new representative for this committee. Representative Fahey received two votes, and Representative Vargas received three — making Representative Vargas the new Healthcare Advisory Committee Representative.

ASM leaders then reported on new information and the meeting was adjourned. The SSFC will meet next Feb 7.